Just more than half a century ago, Thurgood Marshall, whom I later had the privilege of serving as a law clerk, was nominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson to be the first Black American to sit on the Supreme Court. The nomination triggered an outpouring of racist opposition from the southern members of the United States Senate. Yet the nomination survived the hatred, and Marshall was confirmed. 

Last fall, President Joe Biden nominated Adeel Mangi to be the first Muslim American to sit on a federal appeals court, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Just as with Marshall, Mangi's nomination has triggered an outpouring of opposition grounded in hate, this time on the basis of religion, not race.

To continue reading Gregory Diskant's article in The Atlantic, please click here.